Improvement in feed devices for rolling-mills



2 Sheets-Sheet 1. F. J, SLADE. Feed Device for Rolling-Mills.

No. 222,845. Patented Dec. 23; 1879.

h it esses: Inventor: 1

NVPEFERS. PHOTD-LITHOGRkPHEFi WASHINGTON. DQ

1 UN T D STATES; PATENTOFFICE.

FREDERICK J. SLADE, OF TRENTON, NEW JERSEY.

IMPROVEMENT IN FEED DEVICES FOR ROLLING-MILLS.

. To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FREDERICK J. SLADE,

of the city of Trenton, in the county of Mercer and State of New Jersey, have invented i were granted to Charles Hewitt on the 7th day of June, A. D. 1859; and I do hereby declare the following to be a specification of my said improvement, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents, in plan, a train of throehigh rolls, to which my improvements, which relate to the mechanism for presenting the metal to and receiving it from the rolls, are applied. Fig. 2 represents, in side elevation, the same train of rolls and the mechanism for moving the metal to be rolled. Fig. 3 represents, in side'elevation, and Fig. 4, in plan, a modification of the device in which the feeding-car is supported in a different manner.

One object of my invention is to render the actions of the mechanical devices by which the metal is moved atthe train of rolls more completely independent of each other, and of the rolls, than in the said Hewitt automatic mechanism for handling metal at the rolls, and in that of others which have since been constructed upon the same general plan, whereby the Workman operating the machine is enabled the more effectually to control the movements of the metal, and so present it to and remove it from the grooves of the rolls with greater pre-' cision and certainty under all circumstances. For this purpose I place on one or both sides of the train a feeding car, E, moving at right angles to the axes of the rolls R, and carried by an intermediate frame, 13, whose wheels I) run on rails b 1) parallel to the axes of the rolls R, so that the feeding-car, with the piece of iron to be rolled resting on it, one end presented toward and almost touching the rolls, may be traversed in front of the rolls to bring the iron opposite any of the grooves in the proper position to be passed through them.

The top of the feeding-car E, or of the friction-rollers, if any, which it bears for the iron it to rest on, should be capable of being placed at the level, or thereabout, of the bottom of r v Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 222,845, dated December 23, 1879; application filed July 17, 1877.

the groove into which the iron is to be passed, or from which it is to be received.

The rails 12 b on which the intermediate frame B rests are carried by a frame, 0, which is mounted upon bell-crank levers c, by which it is raised and lowered to the extent required for feeding the metal to and receiving it from the rolls. This lifting and lowering frame moves in guides c, which steady it and control its path of motion. These guides may be made straight or curved, and either parallel or inclined to the plane through the axes of the rolls, to give a corresponding direction to the path of motion of the frame which they control.

In like manner the railways might be curved instead of straight, and inclined instead of ,parallel to the axes of the rolls", if such modifications should the better adapt them to the kind of movements required to perform sp'ecial kinds of rolling work. i

The movements of the two carriages and the frame on their respective railways and guides may beeifected by means of small water-engines d d d fitted and adapted to each, the cylinders d and 61 being attached to the lifting-frame G, and the water conveyed to them from the valves through which it is admitted by the elbowed pipes d to allow the lifting of the frame 0.

The piston of the cylinderd is provided with a jointed connecting'rod, d to allow the side motion of the frame B.

The details of the hydraulic engines are sufficiently shown in the drawings, and therefore will not be further described.

Oounterbalance-weightsD may be employed, if desired, to balance the weight of the frame and cars, including or not the weight of the iron being rolled.

This combination of cars, railways, and liftin g-frame enables me to bring the piece of iron to be rolled into any position required in relation to the rolls with promptness and ease.

In some cases it may be preferable to place such a lift and cars on each side of the train of rolls, but in most cases it will be sufficient to place it on one side only--viz., that on which the piece has to be raised to enter the grooves. In such cases the piece caneither be handled on the opposite side of the rolls by hooks in the ordinary way, or may be carried on a car traversingin front of the train, as has been heretofore practiced, which car may be provided with rollers for moving the piece to or from the grooves of the rolls.

I have described separate hydraulic engines as a convenient means of moving the lift and the cars connected with it, but other means may be substituted for them or either of them but such modifications are too well understood to require detailed description.

The manner in which the engineer or attendant opens and shuts the valves, and moves the levers of the reversing-gear, to admit and shut off the power, and to move the cars or lifting and lowering frame one way or the other, or to stop one or more of these movements, while one or more of them are kept in action, is apparent from an inspection of the drawings; and from the knowledge of the structure and working of such machinery which all competent mechanical engineers possess it is obviously unnecessary to describe these points more in detail.

The feeding-car E may be carried on the frame Bin various ways. In the modification, Fig. 3, I have shown it supported by the levers 01 which oscillate on the shafts 01", supported by bearings attached to the frame B, the levers d being actuated by the piston of the cylinder 01. By this means the motion of the feedingcar E may be made greater than that of the actuating-piston in any proportion desired, depending simply on the position on the length supported, either by applying the motion of the piston to the frame in which the rollers are journaled, letting the car run on the top of these, in which case it would travel twice the distance of the center of the rollers, or, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, in which the car Eis provided with rollers e, fastened to the axles of the wheels 6, by which the car rests on the frame B. The metal to be rolled rests on the rollers e, and receives the motion of their upper surface, which may be made as much greater than that of the car itself and the actuating-piston as desired by increasing the diameters of the rollers 0.

What I claim is The combination, in a device for feeding heavy pieces of metal to rolls for condensing or shaping them, of a feeding-car, E, a traversing car, B, and a lifting and lowering frame, 0, supported one upon the other, and capable of operating separately or together, substantially as described.

FRED. J. SLADE.

Witnesses:

R. M. ANDERSON, J. O. STOKES. 

